F451

What is the big advantage of the arrows?

It seems those that use the V1 love the arrows and being able to detect the direction of the radar, so I'm wondering.

For me, over the years, when the detector goes off, especially for K, I'm hitting the brakes, then looking around. It woudn't hurt to have the arrows I guess, but my first concern is being aware that I'm being hit so I can hit the brakes asap, then my secondary concern is the location of the offending radar which usually comes into view shortly after I get the strong signal indication.

Thanks. -Ed

ps: I use the 8500 X50 and love it. No tickets since I got it. And not saying its better then any other unit, only that is has worked fine for me.

ew928

JB,
Thanks for the link. Great reading. Really enjoyed the Peterson Effect on detector testing.
(It's like I keep getting this 'X' band hit and I know there's no mall or gas station with automatic door openers around.)

Wondering if it's time to move up 2 generations to the 9500i from the solid 8500 Passport.
Has anyone tried the STi driver or 9500i to see if their built-in GPS interferes with another GPS unit? Wonder if the STi's 'magnesium construction' means it's got a metal skin to better isolate stray RF.

It's not the speeding ticket that scares me. It's the ossifer approaching the vehicle with itchy trigger gunhand resting on the firearm that frightens me. Sneeze and Boom. Brains all over the half leather interior. Guess you need SEM to get the blood stains out of the gray interior bits.

John Veninger

Purchased my V1 for the 2000 928OCIC drive to Kansas.
Been the best radar detector I've had.

Fabio421

Whats the story with the X band false alarms? Please elaborate.

ew928

From experience and online reading, automatic door openers are often on or near enough to the 'X' band so their presence triggers an X band alert. Other non-police use devices may also be emitting in the X band. My detector can find 7-11 convenience stores nicely. Other more knowledgeable in this RF stuff will probably chime in.

As posted before, of course some police cruisers are going back to X-band so any alerts are worth investigating.

It's like those WWII submarine movies I love, if you don't torpedoed by the cruiser, you get depth charged. That little radar detector (sonar for the car) sometimes just ain't enough against speed traps, roving unmarked Crown Vics and airborned assault.

AO

The V1 not only has the advantage of the arrows telling you where the signal is originating from, but it also tells you how many signals are out there. I don believe the 8500/9500 does this. One of the new tactics being employed by LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) is to set themselves up in a construction zone or similar where there's a sign that reads your speed. The people with the Passports pass the sign thinking that was the radar signal they got on their detector and resume their speed oblivious to the LEO who is about to zap them another 1000' down the road.

With the V1, not only will it tell you that there are multiple radar signatures out there, but it will also tell you which band and which direction is the strongest. You can quickly ascertain the landscape and make a decision if it's wise to resume speed or not.

To me, that's the biggest benefit of the V1 right there. Without that information you're flying half-blind IMHO.

Abby Normal

Bel RX65

Recently tried the Rocky Mountain Radar Detector with Jamming and was impressed.

The top 4 have all been mentioned here.. in addition to the two above the Escort and V1 are quality units. I've personally tested them all and prefer Bel.

Although I am considering one of the Rocky Mountain Units for the Shark because of the scrambler.

http://www.rockymountainradar.com/

ew928

One reason I spent the coin on the Passport 8500 ages ago:



* In the standard bar graph mode, the Escort 8500 X50 will show one band that was detected and a bar graph representing the signal strength.
* In ExpertMeter™ mode, the 8500 X50 can identify band and relative signal strength of up to radar 8 signals at once.
* In SpecDisplay™ mode, the detector will show the band and actual frequency being detected.

It's cool watching multiple hits and their strengths. At least when I'm driving past a mall and getting swamped by 'X' band. Of course there could be cruisers lurking about.
Hate it when they use non-Crown Vics to prowl the highways and biways.
Bastages.

Sharkbody

I'm going with the 9500i for SITM. Perhaps we can do some informal comparisons while we're up there. G

F451

Great info on the arrows and multiple band displays.

Goood food for thought. Thanks guys.

And Ernest, I hate those freaking non-standard cruiser cars they use too.

And now they have the low profile light bars that look like roof racks!

Not to mention aircraft. I got dinged by an aircraft on my Ducati. The kicker was that there was a loooong string of idiots cruising the left and center lanes right at the speed limit. So I moved over to the right lane which was empty for a mile or more. It was on a downhill, so I gradually picked up speed.

They had a plane circling above, and he radioed the sheriff who was waiting at the bottom, pulling over people left and right.

It really ticked me off, as they should have been focusing on all the tailgaters and lane shifters in the left and center lanes who were all over each other trying to get by each other, meanwhile the right lane was wide open. WTF?

I paid my lawyer a good chunk of change to defeat that one, as I'd rather she get the money then those revenue generaters on the roads.

auzivision

A1... nuff said

Fabio421

How about you and I do some informal comparisons on the way.

Abby Normal

I thought that is steak sauce?

Sharkbody

I'm game for that. G

Sharkbody

A1 is a good sauce, but it's main function is to equalize all steaks, so that if you're entertaining and run out of heavily marbled offerings, you push the A1 and all is well. G